David Midgley

David Bancroft (Baruch Ben Avraham) Midgley, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and brother passed away on March 7, 2026. He was 85. Born in Massachusetts, David came to Chicago for law school in 1962, and never left, raising his family, putting down roots with an ever-growing circle of close friends, building a business, and being an active community member in his adopted city.

David is survived by Janet, his wife of almost 60 years, his daughters Deborah Midgley and Sarah Cassidy, and their spouses, Brian Gladstein and Kevin Cassidy, his four grandchildren, Jadon and Aviva Gladstein, and Meredith and Alexandra Cassidy, his sister, Eleanor Gardner, and his brother, Stephen Midgley.

Born on October 2, 1940, in Worcester, Massachusetts to Lillian and Harold Midgley, David grew up in nearby Ayer, MA. A precocious student, he attended Lawrence Academy High School in Groton, MA before heading south for college at the University of Virginia, where he graduated in 1962 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. David moved to Chicago later that year to attend law school at the University of Chicago Law School, where he received a Juris Doctorate degree and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1965.

David was introduced to Janet Brodsky by a mutual friend at the Rathskeller in Old Town. David and Janet were married in Glencoe, IL on June 19, 1966. They welcomed their daughters, Deborah and Sarah, and made their home in Hyde Park for over thirty years.

David joined the law firm Ross and Hardies in 1965, and then went on to help to found the Illinois Housing Development Association, when that agency was created in 1967 to finance affordable housing in Illinois. Building off his experience at IHDA, David struck out on his own, forming a consulting firm, Caine and Midgley (later Caine Gressel Midgley Slater), that provided financial expertise to state housing finance agencies around the country. David's company eventually became cfX, Inc. in 1991, which is where David worked until he retired in 2000.

During the mid-1960s, David also served in the Illinois National Guard and was activated during the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. David sympathized with several of the protesters who were arrested and gave them contact information for lawyers who could represent them.

David enjoyed traveling, attending the symphony, rooting for the Chicago White Sox, especially at old Comiskey Park, gardening and landscaping at his vacation home in Michiana, Michigan, and spending time with his wife, daughters and grandchildren, especially swimming in Lake Michigan. David also had many close friends that he considered family. He particularly enjoyed gathering with his "men's group" to help with major house projects, and he had a well-earned reputation as a tireless worker who loved to get his hands (and clothes) dirty.

A lifelong learner and naturally and insatiably curious person, David was an avid reader, crossworder, card game player, and jigsaw puzzler. After he retired, he took several classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Northwestern University and attended talmud class at KAM Isaiah Israel synagogue.

David believed in giving back to his community. He volunteered his time as an active Board Member of KAM Isaiah Israel, the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs and the Technical Assistance Corporation for Housing (TACH). He was also very proud of his 20+ years of sobriety and the many friendships he formed through AA.

David will be dearly missed and fondly and lovingly remembered by his family and friends.

Service Friday, March 13, 2026, 10AM at Chicago Jewish Funerals, 8851 Skokie Blvd (at Niles Center Road), Skokie. Interment Shalom. To attend the livestream, please visit our website. Arrangements by Chicago Jewish Funerals - Skokie Chapel, 847.229.8822, www.cjfinfo.com.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in his memory to Friends of the Parks, 67 East Madison Street, Chicago, IL 60603, www.fotp.org/donate or Erie Family Health Centers, 2750 West North Avenue, Chicago, IL 60647, www.eriefamilyhealth.org/donate/ or Crazy Horse Monument, 12151 Avenue of the Chiefs, Crazy Horse, SD 57730, www.donate.crazyhorsememorial.org/.